Sarah Silverman Makes a Denny's Web Ad You May Not Want to Watch While You’re Eating

Here’s some more “branded entertainment”–Web video shorthand for “thing we made once a marketer gave us some money in exchange for featuring their brand”–from IAC and Ben Silverman’s Electus Studio. This one’s an interview series with comedians, sponsored by Denny’s, shot in a “live, working Denny’s restaurant.”

It’s good, too. The ads feature David Koechner, whom you’ve seen in a million things, like “Anchorman” and in a semi-recurring role in the “The Office”, and he’s funny and smart. Today’s installment has him chatting up Sarah Silverman, and she’s great as well.

I also like the fact that save for a post-roll at the end, the video has nothing to do with Denny’s, other than its location–there’s not even a Moons Over My Hammy reference, which seems very hard to resist.

Since the stuff preceding the mini-ad is funny and entertaining, this makes me feel vaguely warm and positive about Dennys.

Except for two words that Silverman uses right around the 3:08 mark here–those make me uncomfortable and not hungry at all.

Just to be clear: I like vulgar potty humor.* A lot! It’s just that if I ran “one of America’s largest full-service family restaurant chains, currently operating more than 1,600 franchised, licensed and company-owned restaurants,” I think I’d be a tad bit squeamish about associating my brand with that part of the body and/or that affliction.

Still! I’m writing about it now, and showing you the clip, so perhaps this is exactly what Denny’s and Electus had in mind. (Really?)

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